Better Body Image: Bored with Exercise?

Recently I was reading Seventeen Magazine and found some great tips for ways to stick with exercise when you become bored. I don’t know about you but my life is busy and even though I like to fit in the time to workout, sometimes I skip workouts because I get bored. Sometimes I don’t even realize I am bored and I just use the excuse of being too busy. But one of the best ways to feel comfortable with your body and have positive body image is to use it by exercising!

Last week I used some of their tips and some of my own to get moving. Here they are:

1. Grab a workout buddy!

I called up a few friends, bought some Groupons for Spin, Yoga and Pilates and made workout dates. It was a great way to catch up with my pals and do some exercises I haven’t done in awhile. If you don’t have the extra cash for classes, you can also go for a walk, jog, hike, etc. But the key is to make an exercise date. It was a lot of fun!

2. Switch a routine you already have!

I swapped my usual 1/2 hour dog walk in my neighborhood with a dog walk on the beach. I live only a few blocks away, but realize I often don’t make the effort to walk down there and do a longer walk. I went and kicked off my shoes and walked for 1.5 hours in the sand! No fancy shoes necessary to tone and get a great cardio workout! Plus it was good for my spirits and got my creative energy flowing. Bonus: my doggies went home and napped all day!

3. Play!

Sometimes we think that “working out” means a grueling visit to the gym or an hour long class that tests our limits. But what about playing tennis, swimming or playing with kids? My boyfriend has twin 7 year old boys and I got the workout of my life with them without even trying! They are beginners in tennis so our trip to the tennis court ended up being really creative and fun. We spent most of our time hitting the ball, missing, running to find the ball and making up new things like tennis baseball! This lead to a game of chase, basketball, tag and then a challenge to run with the dogs all around the neighborhood. We finished with a dip in the pool. Swimming laps, treading water and challenging each other to cannonballs was a great workout. Bonus: we all went home exhausted!